Beyond the Founding Team | A Leadership Playbook for Growth: CFOs

Explore More Leadership Roles

CFOs are typically hired around the time of major funding, signaling that companies are scaling their businesses for long-term growth.

CFOs are typically the first executive hire, however more than half are replaced prior to IPO.

^{Source: 2022 RRA Growth Co Analysis, n = 78 CFOs}

Chief Financial Officers at time of IPO

The profile of leaders who are tasked with organizing the initial public offering:

^{*Finance leaders stepping into the CFO role for the first time were either divisional finance leaders at academy technology companies, bankers with private company experience, or financial consultants prior.}

^{Source: 2022 RRA Growth Co Analysis, n = 18 First Time CFOs}

Discover more CFO leadership insights

Meet our Growth CFO Experts

Authors

• Robert Alexander is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Technology Knowledge team. He is based in New York City.
• Agnes Greaves co-leads the firm’s Core & Growth Technology practice globally and the Consumer Digital & Media practice in Europe. She is based in London.
• Tuck Rickards heads the firm’s San Francisco office and co-leads the Core & Growth Technology practice. He is based in San Francisco.

Methodology and Notes

• Analysis of 40 tech/tech-enabled companies that were founded since 2005 and IPO’d 2017-2021, were largest by region according to valuation at time of deal, and achieved ≥20% revenue growth rate over the three-year period prior to IPO
• Industry verticals included: fintech, healthtech, automotive/transportation, eCommerce/marketplace, software/cloud
• Analysis includes only the appointment of non-founder executives
• Major funding rounds: approximate point in time at which each company reached series C/later stage funding
• APAC excluded from study due to data accessibility
• Sources: Pitchbook, Board Ex